The northeast coastal province of Quang Ninh has been working hard to lure investment and develop tourism products in a bid to promote the province’s tourism brand.

The province aims to create new tourism products in eco-tourism, experimental tourism, adventurous tourism, cultural tourism, agro-tourism and community-based tourism, which are launched in the localities of Dong Trieu, Hoanh Bo, Binh Lieu and Tien Yen.

Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Pham Ngoc Thuy said in July, the department organised a workshop to assess potential, advantages and current situation of agro-tourism in Quang Ninh, as well as to gather opinions of experts and travel agents on developing this type of tourism.

The province also called for creative and interesting ideas of new tourism events.

Notably, the Ha Long International Circus Festival, the first of its kind, is scheduled to take place in mid-November this year. The international event is hoped to not only attract a large number of tourist arrivals to the city, but also offer chances to bolster investment in tourism and services with a series of sidelines events.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thang underlined that what matters the most for the tourism sector of Ha Long in particular and Quang Ninh in general, is to build new tourism products which can attract domestic and foreign holiday makers even outside the peak tourist season in summer.

Therefore, the International Circus Festival is of significant meaning for Ha Long and Quang Ninh, he added.

August this year marked an outstanding event for the province’s tourism sector when Quang Ninh signed a cooperation agreement with Clipper Ventures on the participation of the province in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2019-2020 and hosting of the 2021-2022 edition.

The signing ceremony took place in Ha Long city with the attendance of leaders from the provincial People’s Committee and relevant departments, as well as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Clipper Ventures William Ward and representatives from VinGroup and SunGroup.

According to the agreement, from the 2019-2020 edition, Quang Ninh will officially become a team partner of the race.

Quang Ninh is the only representative locality of Vietnam to have a team named “Ha Long Bay – Viet Nam” taking part in the global sailing race. A participating clipper of the yacht race was named “Ha Long Bay – Vietnam” at a ceremony held in London’s St Katherine Docks on August 29.

Bearing the logo of the local Ha Long Bay, the clipper will help popularize the image and brand of Quang Ninh tourism around the world.

The Clipper Race 2019-2020 began on September 1 with 8 legs starting from St Katherine Docks. The fleet will complete its circumnavigation when it returns eleven months later, in August 2020.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has been held for more than 20 years and become an annual event with the participation of about 70 clippers.

The race is a golden opportunity for the province to attract investment, promote tourism, and exchange culture with the UK and other destination countries along the journey.

Quang Ninh’s tourism has sustained fast growth rate in recent time. The province welcomed about 10.5 million visitors in the first eight months of the year. Of the figure, there were 3.7 million foreign tourists, a year-on-year rise of 14 percent.

Tourism revenue was estimated to hit 20.7 trillion VND in the period, surging 29 percent compared to the same period last year.

With this momentum, the province is confident it will fulfill the target to receive 15-16 million tourists, including 7 million foreigners in 2020 and a total 30 million visitors in 2030, along with becoming one of the best tourist destinations in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.